Sweet girls

These two have definately captured our hearts in so many ways. Their unique little personalities are precious and I cannot get enough of their smiles and our "chats" throughout the day. I feel so lucky to get to be here to soak it all in- even through ALL of the bottles, diaper changes, rocking, fussy moments, it is the truly is the best job in the whole world. I cannot believe they are 12 weeks old tomorrow!!! Three months is right around the corner. Time really flies by so fast...We learned that with Lucas!

These were some pictures of the girls that my brother took a few weeks ago when he came down to visit. Happy Wednesday to you all- get out there and soak up this sunshine, we will!!!

Update

I really have every good intention of keeping everyone updated much more frequently but other things always seem to creep up and take precedence over the blog. Like precious baby girls, a sweet little boy who wants to play with his trucks, a lonely puppy, laundry, dinner, never-ending bottlewashing, etc. So if anyone still even reads this anymore, I apologize! ;)

We are here and doing good. The last two months are a blur to put it best. A wonderful blur overall but seriously, how is it already March, and springtime? Going from 11 weeks of bedrest to hitting the ground running to take care of twins is insane to put it best. Factor in recovery from a C-section and that makes it a little more interesting. I did pretty good for the first 6 weeks, even had a good 6-week follow up, BUT ended up with an infected hematoma in my abdomen that was pretty big and VERY painful for the 7th week. After more ultrasounds and a round of antibiotics and pain meds I am feeling better and hopefully my body will do its "job" and eventually reabsorb this thing. That was the general consensus, sounds much better than surgery to me! I have had a little more pain over the last two days but i am hoping that I just did too much lifting, or something for my extremely weak muscles...Time will tell...I have to remind myself that I did have major surgery.

Enough about me, I know you really are here for the wee-ones ;) All three are doing great. Lucas is still a fantastic big bro that loves to kiss his sisters and help with bath time and diaper changes. He is my official "stuff gatherer" and "rinser"- gotta watch him with that cup of water! He can clean a bathroom in no time at all! He is still loving school and brought home the cutest leprechaun hat yesterday, I need to try to get a picture of him with it on ;) He loves to ask us now "who driven that truck/van/car? I guess since he has it down pat what they are specifically, we are more concerned with who does the navigating... Very cute! This also transcends into the grocery store and walks....who is dat man? What's he got in his cart? He got Cheerios and chips! What's that man doing? (Running)....A sweet moment a few weeks back was at dinner, he was eating his supper and just looked at me and said "thank you for making dis momma, it's yummy!" ;) He also runs up to us and gives us hugs with " I love you momma/daddy", no prompts at all!! Such a sweet boy. We are excited about getting outside more for fun finally after all of the snow this winter.

As for the girls, they are growing and changing so fast! We just had their two month appt. Monday which went great, minus the 4 shots each! Poor babies, I had erased that part from my memory with Lucas, guess it was the trauma. They screamed briefly and calmed down rather quickly this time around, hope they all go that smoothly! They received glowing reports from the Dr. thus far. Their nicknames are chubs and chunk :) Peyton weighed in at 10 lb and 3 oz, and Kayleigh was 9 lb 11 oz. both were almost 23 inches. I didn't expect them to be that big, I was thinking around 9 lbs. This might not seem to big to those of you who popped out 8 pounders but remember, they started at 5.15 and 5.6 so we see them as chubs and chunk! Some fun things they have been up to:

Both are:

-napping much better these last few weeks- on their own, this is a big step!

-Sleeping 6 hours at night, a few nights were a little longer... ;)

-Love their bathtime.

-Don't mind tummy time.

-Holding their heads up great.

-Like to suck on their hands. Peyton could be working on sucking her thumb...

-Eat every 3-4 hours during the day, about 4 oz. at each feeding. I stopped nursing at 6 weeks because I think I was going crazy...literally, two babies can wear you down quickly and I was on the verge of requiring medication. I had good intentions but it just didn't work for us. It would be different if I could sustain both of them but that just isn't the case...So now I pump and they get formula and breastmilk from a much happier momma! As the doc says- That is so much more important than what they drink-regardless of what you are meant to believe/feel guilty about. They are healthy and doing great. At twelve weeks we will switch to straight formula since the pump is a rental and we have spent enough on that with three months.

-A problem is-They have been really gassy and therefore fussy as a result since about 4 weeks. We tried it all, I adjusted my diet, we switched formulas, gas drops, gripe water, colic calm, Karo, tummy rubs, bicycles, etc. Not much really helped. Poor Kayleigh gets down right miserable at times and is inconsolable. They were getting constipated and gas just kept building up in their poor tummies. The only way they would go to the bathroom was if I used the thermometer to "probe" them, poor babies! Well I think we have even managed to turn that corner, we added a special tea brew thanks to a friend's suggestion and upped their Karo and they actually pooped on their own yesterday!!! I was so excited!!!:) So sad that I am that excited about poop, but true!

As for each baby-

Peyton:

-still has her head FULL of hair, it does seem to be a lighter brown now...

-loves to coo and smile at you- she is so sociable already;) It really melts my heart to see that big grin.

-watches me wherever I go in the room and uses that as her cue when she needs her momma time. She was pretty needy for awhile- AKA- always in my arms, but this last week or two had really become a happy girl most of the day, no matter where she is!

- loves to grab my hair- OUCH! or shirt, etc.

- has the cutest cry/pout when she starts to get upset about something. But still can go from 0-60 in no time flat, especially when big girl wants to eat!

- really only likes her paci when she is sleepy.

- likes to snuggle and root when she is sleepy.

- starting to fall asleep on her own once she is swaddled and comfy. This was NOT the case for MANY weeks, so we are excited!

Kayleigh:
- one of the most observant, bright eyed, babies I have ever seen. She has been this way from the get-go.

-very relaxed, and easygoing for the most part. Happy to hang out on her own and watch what goes on around her.

- Loves the swing!

- quite the cuddler when she does have one-on-one time (this is much harder with two!)

-reminds us so much of her big brother, they look so much alike at this age!!!

- Loves her paci! Once again, she is a little Lucas...

- Coos and smiles too, but makes you work a little harder for it!

- Has the sweetest expression and eyes :)

- Likes to blow bubbles.

- Stretches out her long fingers and waves them around.

Sounds like enough for this digest. Sorry for the ridiculous amounts of pictures in this post, I realized it turned out to be a bit excessive but hard to dwindle down so many weeks worth! I will try hard to get on here more often and have lots more to share. But wee ones are calling! ;)

Miss you mom...

Today marks three years, actually it has been about three years and one hour since I lost my mom from this world. I have to say that because I know that she is in a much better place and I will see her again one day in heaven BUT it still doesn't bring that much comfort to your heart when it hurts. And after three years it still hurts.

She was such a great mom, we were truly blessed to have in our our lives. Her warmth, compassion, smile, laugh, silly ways all made her so much fun to be around. She was a fantastic mom, wife, sister, aunt, cousin, friend, volunteer, role model...the list goes on and on. She always did the sweetest little things to let you know she cared. From a little card/care package, impromptu shopping/lunch trip, bringing Hunter puppy all the way down to Longwood once a month for a picnic with his mommy & daddy (me & Todd), a phone call just to check in, a day at the craft show or Garden Ridge on our shopping excursions, taking the doggies for walks, wine tasting fun :), movie nights, yummy brownie sundaes when we would come stay over, scrap booking classes, planning our wedding, helping with home stuff- painting, fence building, etc. Laughing hysterically at Larry the Cable Guy on the trip to PA :) The list really goes on and on....We shared so many special times together over the last 10 years of my adulthood, let alone childhood. I just have to be selfish and say that I wanted her here so much longer than that.

But I would be lying if I didn't admit that I am so sad that she has missed out on the last three years. Over the last three years our family has grown from 2 to 5 and I know she would have LOVED her 3 new grand babies. How? Because she was such a great grandma to Justin, she loved him to pieces and thoroughly enjoyed every moment that she got to spend with him. From the moment she knew he was on the way until the last time she got to see him in the hospital she LOVED him so much and I know she still does. What "little girl" doesn't want her mom around to see her kids grow up? That is so hard for me. To know that they will never know her, and what a WONDERFUL woman she was. I talk about her all of the time to Lucas and he knows her pictures and that she is Grandma and she lives in heaven with God and Hunter :) But I wish so much that she was here to love these sweet angels. Especially now that I have these two sweet girls. Not because I think she would love having granddaughters- I know she would but just as much as her grandsons- but, because now I know just how precious the relationship is between a mom and her daughter having traveled this road, and I feel so blessed that God gave me the opportunity to experience that again, even if it is on the other side of things. (Me playing the "mom" role this time around).

Sorry I have been MIA here for awhile. There is so much on my plate and I am just trying to soak these little girls in before they get to big too fast! Not to mention we do not have wireless Internet anymore so I have to be in the kitchen to get on the PC and that is a rarity, well at least without a baby in my arms! Two is a challenge at times but I don't feel like we have "double trouble" or "our hands full" like so many strangers point out to us...(that is another post in itself, public attention with twins goes hand in hand...and you all know me I am pretty much an introvert ;) ) Instead I feel that we were doubly blessed and our hearts are what are full. Minus that little ache that still misses my momma :) I will try to update again soon. Love to all!!! :) Here are a few new pictures of the little ones...